


The Tale of Two Princes

by GalacticHub



Category: Voltron: Legendary Defender
Genre: Angst, Angst with a Happy Ending, M/M, Some Fluff, Violence, Voltron au
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2016-12-05
Updated: 2016-12-18
Packaged: 2018-09-06 15:32:54
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 3
Words: 9,362
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/8758627
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/GalacticHub/pseuds/GalacticHub
Summary: Lance is a young, handsome prince from the planet of Altea, and Keith is a young, adventurous prince of the Galras and Druids. The two met when they were only ten years old and became best friends within a day. But when they meet again after several years when Keith had not returned to the meadow in such a long while, their friendship becomes something more. They struggle to keep their relationship a secret as each day passes, especially when Keith is instructed to capture the Altean prince and bring him to Emperor Zarkon.





	1. Secret

**Author's Note:**

> Hello! The first chapter of my story is relatively short since it is introducing Lance and Keith's background with one another :) And let me know if there are any spelling/grammar errors! My editor didn't get the chance to finish checking over mistakes because of school so constructive criticism and help is welcome! Enjoy the first chapter!!

_ They first met when they were only innocent and naive children. _

 

_ It had been a beautiful and rather sunny day in Altea, while Lance laid alone in the juniper flowers, the lovely fragrance surrounding him as he watched the puffy white clouds float above him. The sun shone and kept his tan skin warm as his bleach grey hair gently blew with the wind. He was only ten at the time and only had few friends who could put up with him. Hunk and Pidge may have been born into peasant families, but Lance’s family still allowed him to play with the two. But since his friends both had to work with chores back home, Lance laid alone.  _

 

_ Or he thought he was alone. _

 

_ He heard a rustling noise behind him and quickly sat up, drawing his toy sword out and pointed it towards the small rustling patch of flowers. Lance puffed up his chest to appear brave, even though he was really nervous, and clutched his blue lion plush close to his chest. “Who goes there?!” He called to the rustling bush. “Show yourself, I am the prince of Altea!” _

 

_ A small figure, about Lance’s size, stepped out looking slightly nervous but ready to attack if need be. The other boy’s ears twitched with nerves and the young prince of Altea noticed how purple the other’s skin was. “Who are you? And why are you purple? And why are your ears so fuzzy? You look like a cat!” Lance giggled softly and made a small step towards the boy who slightly flinched back nervously.  _

 

_ “M- My name is Keith. And everyone I know is this color! And I do not look like a cat! You’re the one with weird ears! Why are they so pointy?” Keith huffed and glared at Lance. “And I am also a prince of the Galras and Druids!” The young galra boy said proudly with his head raised and a small grin made it’s way to his lips. Lance only rolled his eyes in response and sat back down, still watching the other boy with annoyance but also curiosity. _

 

_ “So how did ya get here?” Lance asked as Keith sat down across from him, a few feet away. “I have never seen you or a race like you here before and my papa hasn’t taught me about galas or d-dru…” _

 

_ “It’s  _ galras  _ and  _ druids, _ ” Keith corrected with a huff and crossed his arms over his chest. “And my grandfather stationed my father somewhere around here. I don’t know why but my father said he would teach me soon! But while my father works, he told me I could go do what I want as long as I don’t get too close to the castle or villages,” the galra boy explained as he played with a small wooden knife that had been at his side. _

 

_ “Why did he say that?” _

 

_ “I dunno.” _

 

_ The two boys fell into a silence after that, and eventually ended up laying down next to each other and watched the clouds above together. Soon enough they began another conversation, one with laughter as they described what each passing cloud looked like. As the day went by, the two told more about each other, getting to know one another just a little bit better. Lance talked about everything from his family, to his favorite color. And Keith, though he was a bit more quiet, he spoke of his family, but didn’t mention any friends. When asked, Keith simply said he didn’t really have anyone to call friend because he was always busy helping his father. _

 

_ “That’s awful! Everyone needs to have friends!” Lance cried and sat up, looking down at Keith. “I know! Today, I hereby declare that we will be best friends!” He smiled and took off his pastel blue cape and wrapped it around Keith as the galra prince blushed a light shade of pink.  _

 

_ “Th-Thank you, here hold on…” Keith unclipped his black cape from his shoulders and gave it to Lance with a small, shy smile of his own. The altean prince beamed and quickly tackle hugged Keith excitedly back into the flowers that surrounded them. The two giggled together and laid in the Junipers, as the sky slowly became darker.   _

 

_ But soon enough, from far away Lance could hear his mother calling him home for dinner and he groaned but quickly responded with; “Coming, mama!”  _

 

_ “I should head back too, my father didn’t want me to stay out past dark.” Lance nodded in understanding and Keith suddenly wrapped his arms around the alteans neck and hugged him tightly, small tears pricking his yellow, glowing eyes. “Thank you for today, Lance. I’m really glad we’re friends.” Lance was stunned for a second before hugging him back and smiling.  _

 

_ “So am I! Should we meet again here tomorrow?” Lance asked and Keith nodded in response before beginning to walk away, waving goodbye to Lance as he hurried off. “See ya tomorrow, cat-boy!” He heard Keith groan, causing him to laugh as he made his way back to his home castle. _

_ That night, while Lance’s mother finished reading a bedtime story to him and tucked him into bed, he suddenly explained how he had met Keith in the fields that day. She smiled softly as Lance described his fun day in the meadow with his new friend he made, but she froze when he spoke of what Keith really was. _

 

_ “And you won’t believe this mama! He is a prince just like me!” Lance cried excitedly at which his mother laughed softly. “He told me that he is prince of the.. The… Galras and Druids! That’s it!” He barely noticed in the dim light how his mother’s face paled and she grew terribly nervous as she looked down at her young son. _

 

_ “Lance, you must never speak with him again. He is too dangerous we can not trust  _ his kind  _ at all. They are the ones who hurt many many people and planets.. They are the one’s your father fights against,” She explained softly, trying to remain as calm as she could in front of her son, not wanting to cause him to panic like she would soon. She would have to tell her husband… If a young galra was here, then no doubt more older ones were in altea, secretly watching them.  _

 

_ “B- But mama.. He was really nice and-” _

 

_ “I said no. You cannot be around him or his kind. Ever. Understand?” _

 

_ “..yes mama.”  _

 

_ “Good. Now try and sleep well.” She leaned down and kissed his forehead as he slowly closed his eyes and pulled the covers up all the way to his chin. He thought of Keith, his new friend. As much as he loved his mother, he wanted to see Keith again. So the next day he went to the meadows, lying to his mother and saying he was meeting Hunk to play jousting. But he really went to the spot to find Keith. But when he arrived...Keith was nowhere to be seen.  _

 

_ So he waited all day.  _

 

_ And Keith never came. _

 

_ \--------------- _

 

_ Years passed and Lance turned fifteen years old. He had never truly given up hope on Keith returning to the flower meadow they had first met in. Every day that Lance went out to the meadow, he was filled with a new hope fluttering in his chest, and every day he left the meadow with his heart feeling empty and lonely. Lance told Hunk of the friendship he had with Keith, and at first his friend was surprised and worried for the altean prince’s  safety. But eventually Hunk understood how important Keith really was to Lance, even if they had met only one time. He had yet to tell Pidge about Keith, but knowing Pidge she would most likely tell Shiro, the brave soldier who had lost an arm while captive of the Galras and Druids. _

 

_ So the trio laid down in the large field of flowers, talking about random things that came across their minds when they were suddenly startled by the sounds of rustling far off in the distance. They quickly rose to their feet, aiming swords in the direction of the noise. No one else ever goes out this far in the pasture except for the three of them, so they knew it must be an intruder. Suddenly, Lance’s eyes widened and watered. He dropped the sword he was holding and began running towards the figure in the distance. “Lance where are you going?!” _

 

_ “It’s Keith!” _

 

_ “How do you know?!” _ __   
  


_ “He has the same stupid mullet from when we first met!” Lance cried back and ran faster to the approaching galra prince. Emotions were running all through Lance. Keith hadn’t shown up for over five years, and now he was suddenly showing up again? He was angry, and upset. So what’s the first thing he does when he’s only inches apart from Keith’s face?  _

 

_ “Ow! What the hell was that for?!” A punch straight to his jaw. Then tight arms around Keith’s neck, pulling him into a tight embrace. Now Keith was confused with the mix of emotions that had suddenly occurred and slowly pushed Lance away from him, but kept him at a close distance. He noticed how Lance had grown, and was now a few inches taller than him.  The galra blinked then met Lance’s eyes, which seemed to also be evaluating Keith’s appearance.  “So… uh, sorry I never really came back till now…” The statement pulled Lance from his daze and the expression was replaced with a glare as the altean prince crossed his arms over his chest with a huff. He happened to notice a small cloth tied to Lance’s waist and couldn’t help but smile a little. “You kept my cape.” _

 

_ “Yeah, I did,” Lance muttered and glanced away then a quiet sigh escaped his lips and seemed to be now avoiding Keith’s gaze. “Why did you never come back? I waited for you every single day. We may have only first met on that day, but when you never came back after you promised to.. I felt like some part of me was missing.” A light blush had dusted over his cheeks and he continued to look down at his shoes with an unreadable expression.  _

 

_ “You think that I wasn’t upset? That I had made the choice to give up the only friend I had, and probably the only person who made me feel happy?” Keith snapped, causing Lance to suddenly look up in confusion. “When I told my father how I met you and how you were not only an altean, but also the prince he wanted me to use you as bait. Wanted me to bring you back to the base and hold you captive!” He was breathing heavily as his fists clenched and unclenched. While away, he had gained a bad temper due to years of harsh training with his father and elite soldiers.  _

_   
_ _ Lance swallowed and hesitantly stepped forward and gently took Keith’s hand and squeezed it with a nervous smile on his lips. “You did it to keep me safe? You really didn’t want to push me away? I had worried that I already annoyed you like most people I had tried to make friends with.” Keith quickly shook his head. He had wanted to return to Lance so many times, but worried his father would find out. “Then I guess I can forgive you for now.. But we have a lot of hanging out time to make up for since you never came back, cat-boy.” _

 

_ “I told you I’m not a cat!” Keith groaned but was suddenly startled when Lance’s hand reached up and began scratching the base of his fuzzy, purple ears. Unable to stop himself, a purr erupted softly in the galra’s throat and he leaned into the touch of Lance’s hand as his eyes fluttered close.  _

 

_ “Uh-huh, sure you definitely don’t act like a cat,” Lance teased playfully with a grin upon his lips.  A cough behind them made the two princes jump and look back to see a confused looking Pidge and a smugly, grinning Hunk watching the two of them interact with one another. Oops. Lance had forgotten he had been in the meadow with them. _

 

_ “So who’s your boyfriend, Lance?” The two turned a bright scarlet and spluttered to give Pidge an answer only causing her to laugh along with Hunk. Lance cried out a; “H-He’s not my boyfriend!” while Keith only remained flustered, covering his bright red face. “Mhmm, I get it. Well it seems you two have quite a bit of catching up to do. Meanwhile Hunk and I should head back and-” Lance opened his mouth to quickly say something but Pidge interrupted. “- I won’t tell your parents. Not even Shiro, just make sure no one else sees the two of you.” So with that, Hunk and Pidge walked away back to the village and left Keith and Lance alone.  _

 

_ The two princes turned to each other and smiled, then sat down in the flowers and began catching up with each other’s lives.  _

 

_ And for the first time in a long while, Lance felt whole again. _

  
  



	2. Cherish

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Four years have passed since Keith returned again, both princes are now eighteen and their secret relationship is becoming harder to hide. They must learn to cherish what fleeting time they have with one another.

“So, how does it feel when I scratch your ears? Like I know you obviously like it because you make a really cute purring noise-” Keith groaned in response to “cute” and laid his head back on Lance’s lap with his face covered in his hands. “-but like what does it feel like?” The altean began gently running his fingers through Keith’s dark, purple hair as the other moved his hands away from his face and looked up at him and shrugged.

“I don’t know, makes me feel kinda sleepy and relaxed I guess,” Keith hummed closed his eyes again as Lance continued to gently stroke his hair and hummed softly to him. It was a quiet tune Lance would hum to him when they would try to nap together or when they were trying to relax. Soon Keith would have to commit a large mission to be fully accepted into his father’s galra army as a second in command and Lance would most likely be married off to an altean woman he didn’t even know. The two were stressed and worried for their future, so they cherished each and every moment that they had with one another in their peaceful field of flowers.

“Hm.. Hey, Keith?” The galra looked up, peeking one eye open. Lance’s gaze was somewhere off in the distance, and it was hard to read some of the emotions that he could see going through his mind. Lance wasn’t always the easiest person to read when it came down to it. “You know I’ll always love you, right? That if something were to ever happen to threaten our relationship, I would do my best to keep us going?”

“Lance, I know you love me. We say it enough that Hunk and Pidge always have to complain when they’re around us,” Keith said with a light chuckle and small smile. “But what suddenly brought this on?”

“I know in a few years or so I might be married off to some other alien princess, probably another Altean from another castle..” Lance eventually looked down and leaned forward a little so their faces were closer. “And so I don’t want to have to worry about you thinking I won’t love you anymore. Because ever since we met when we were younger, I’ve had eyes only for you.” He leaned down further, brushing back Keith’s bangs and placed a gentle kiss upon his forehead. 

Keith closed his eyes for a second, a blissful smile stuck on his lips and he opened his eyes again to look up at a softly grinning Lance. “Don’t worry, I know you don’t really have a say in such matter.. If you did I know you would chose me instead. Maybe even find a way to convince your parents to let you marry a galra.” That would be nice. If the alteans and galras were able to live in peace together, and not have to fight one another when seen on sight. “You do tend to be very persistent. Or should I say annoying?” Lance dramatically gasped and fell back, holding his chest as if Keith had shot him.

“Oh, my love! My prince, how you wound me so!” Keith only rolled his eyes and chuckled, sitting up to watch as Lance continued to pretend like he had actually hurt his feelings. The glara prince climbed on top of Lance and looked down at him while his ears twitched up with amusement. “Your eyes were once my sun, shining bright and as yellow gold! Now they reflect my despair and sadness you have brought forth on me!”

“Oh shut it,” Keith huffed and leaned down, pressing a quick and chaste kiss to the other prince’s lips and pulled away and laid down at Lance’s side. “Why, out of all the galaxies, did I have to fall for such a stupid and annoying prince like you?”

“Aw, thanks, cat-boy. Love you too~” Lance cooed and turned on his side to face Keith with his trademark grin. Keith simply rolled his eyes, he seemed to do that a lot whenever he was around Lance, and closed his eyes to let himself relax again.

They both laid now in a peaceful silence, basking in the warm sun with a cool breeze gently blowing along their faces and through their hair. Eventually they both ended up falling into a light sleep, curled in each other’s arms while Lance snored softly and Keith draped one leg around one of the altean’s legs. As they napped closely to one another, Keith began to stir and let out a soft string a whimpers that erupted Lance from his nap and her sat up slowly gently shaking his boyfriend’s shoulder. “Keith? Buddy? Hey wake up you’re-” 

Keith’s hand shot up and he grabbed Lance’s arm and without thinking the galra pinned Lance to the ground, eyes wide with fear and his heart was thudding loudly enough that the altean could hear it pounding in Keith’s chest. For a few seconds, Keith’s eyes were distant and even if they were staring directly down into Lance’s sapphire eyes, it was almost like Keith didn’t even know who he was. And Lance was too shocked into silence to say anything, so he swallowed the nerves he felt and continued to only stare.

The galra’s eyes eventually softened and he slowly got off of Lance and covered his face in shame and turned away from the other Prince. Lance reached out to him, gently placing a reassuring hand on his shoulder, but Keith flinched away, releasing a shuddering breath before speaking up.

“I’m sorry, Lance..” His words were muffled slightly as he continued to cover his face. “I’ve just been having a lot of nightmares and I haven’t gotten any sleep lately.. My father has just been acting different recently and I worried he knows something.”

“Well your father seems to always act like, from what you’ve told me,” Lance interjected, hesitantly scooting closer to his galra partner. “Why are you so worried about it then? It’s never been so bad that you wake up from just a nap ready to almost kill someone. Like I know it’s basically in galra blood to be blood thirsty but you’ve never really seem to be like that.” 

“No no, I meant like he knows something about  _ us. _ ”

“Oh.”

“Yeah.” Lance shifted a little uncomfortably before leaning against Keith, laying his head down on his shoulder. He looked up and saw tears were forming at the corner of Keith’s lightly growing yellow eyes. Worry and sadness struck through Lance’s heart and he sat up a little straighter and gently cupped Keith’s face in his hands and softly used his thumbs to wipe away the tears. “Sorry it’s just.. If my father learns about us then who knows what he’ll do to you! Especially since you’re the prince of altea! Our races have never gotten along. Sometimes I think it would have been better if we never met.”

A flash of hurt struck through Lance’s eyes and Keith regretted what he said immediately after seeing the pain in his eyes. “Is that really how you think? That we should have never met just because you’re having stupid ‘daddy issues’?” Lance snapped and stood up, glaring down at Keith. “I thought we had a better relationship than this!”

“That’s not what I meant, Lance! Can you not just be overly dramatic for one day and understand what I really said?” Keith knew he should apologize, but both of them always had tempers that were hard to put out once they started an argument. Especially with an argument like this. 

“You know what, since you just want to sulk and kill the mood I’m just going to go back to the castle. I just want to try and spend anytime we have together because who knows when if we’ll never see each other again someday!” Before Keith could reach out and grab Lance’s arm to stop him from leaving, the alten had already began making his way back home and out of the flower meadow.

“Fine! Leave and go pout in your castle!” Keith snapped back as Lance only turned around for a second just to flip his middle finger up at the galra before leaving Keith’s sights. The galra growled in his throat and sat down with an audible huff and crossed his arms over his chest. Keith’s furry ears drooped down and gently twitched with the wind that gently blew by, carrying the scent of the flower’s with it. 

Eventually, he calm down and was beginning to feel lonely again, hugging himself tightly and sniffling softly, He waited for the rest of the day to see if Lance would return to him and the two could just make up and make out. But as the day went on and the sun was nearly completely down, Keith realized Lance would not be coming back for the day and made his way back to his small spacecraft. 

He could only hope that tomorrow would be better. 

______________

 

Lance awoke early the next morning. Actually, he woke up really early compared to waking up late like he usually would do each morning. He hadn’t slept well that night, tossing and turning the entire night as the thoughts of the argument he had with Keith plagued his mind and replayed over and over. Maybe if Lance hadn’t lost his temper so easily then he could have spent the rest of that day laying with Keith and teasing the galra about his ears which he did rather often. 

He knew that he and Keith would be unable to keep their relationship a secret for long if both of their parents were beginning to suspect why the two of them would suddenly disappear during the day then return when it was almost dark out. Each time, both of them would create some excuse. Lance would say he was just out with Hunk and Pidge in the village or out in the field practicing jousting moves with one another that Shiro, their trainer, had taught them in previous lessons. And Keith would make up excuses that he was either out patrolling planets the galra hadn’t taken over or off somewhere practicing his flight skills. 

But with each passing day, they knew that both of their parents were beginning to sense something was off about what was going on and soon enough they had a feeling they’d be seen, followed, or spied on. Lance knew they should count each day they see with one another a blessing. He knew he shouldn’t use what possibly little time they had with one another arguing over little things that wouldn’t really matter in the future. 

So Lance took in a deep breath and looked at himself in the mirror as he finished getting dressed. He wore a silk vest, a light teal color along with his long pastel blue cape that was only an inch above the ground. He had a simple golden crown upon his head with a single sapphire gem in the center in a triangular shape. And at his waist, he wore what he wore every single day, and refused to leave his room without. It was the cape that Keith had given him when they had first met. Sure the fabric was rather worn and torn in some places, but he always felt like he had a part of Keith with him even when the galra prince wasn’t around him. 

The altean prince nodded at his look in the mirror, satisfied with how he look and briskly walked out of his room and made his way down the long castle hallway, his cape fluttering behind him. He waved and smiled kindly at the servants who gave him a bow before returning back to the chores. Lance hummed but was stopped abruptly when he accidentally stumbled into a tall figure, who just happened to be his father who was speaking with Shiro. The altean king looked down at his son curiously while Shiro chuckled softly.

“And where are you off to in such a hurry, young man?” His father asked, raising one brow quizzically at the altean prince, Lance’s father was a large and sturdy man, one who ruled with justice and kindness at the same time. He had made the law that no prisoners shall be treated cruelly or be tortured in anyway- he didn’t want the Altea kingdom to be like the Galra empire. But galra soldiers who were caught have immediate death sentences if they could not be reasoned with.

“Uh, just going out to the village to joust with Hunk and Pidge in the juniper meadows. Apparently Pidge forged a new blade and it’s really light so I wanted to try it out!” Lance lied, and shifted his weight to another foot and looked up to his father who seemed to ponder for a moment before nodding in response to Lance’s excuse.

“Alright, Well, don’t stay out too late. Your mother and I have something to discuss with you during dinner so do not be late.” A sinking feeling made it’s way to his heart but Lance feigned happiness and nodded before turning on his heel and hurrying out of the castle while shouting back; “See ya later, Shiro!” 

Lance hurried through the bustling village, his hood up to make sure that no one would recognize his face and stop him to show him what they had for sale. Going along faster once out of the small town, he made his way to the field of junipers where he decided to wait for Keith. He sat down in the spot they always met at and hugged his knees closed to his chest and rested his head on top of his knees, letting out a tired sigh. The altean knew he had arrived rather early since the two usually met after lunch when the sun was high in the sky. But Lance had been bouncing with nerves inside and couldn’t wait to see Keith again and apologize for acting out and not thinking clearly.

He slowly closed his eyes, thinking that Keith would not come when a quiet yet sturdy voice disturbed him from behind. “I didn’t think you would come back today after yesterday.” He knew Keith’s voice anywhere and would be able to recognize it even if he wasn’t looking at him.

“Yeah, well, I could say the same to you, mullet-head,” Lance said, slowly turning around to face Keith who sat down next to him. He let out a tired sigh and the galra leaned against the altean prince, ears twitching a little. “Look I’m sorry about yesterday. I let my temper get the best of me and wasn’t really thinking clearly. I know you would never really purposely try to make me angry or upset.” Keith glanced up to look Lance in the eyes then gently nuzzled into his neck, letting out a quiet breath against his skin. 

“No, you have no need to apologize. I was the one who snapped first and said something I shouldn’t have and should have known it would have made you upset,” Keith mumbled softly against his neck and closed his eyes again. “You know I love you. I just always struggle when it comes to expressing stuff.” Lance chuckled softly and tilted Keith’s head up and placed a gentle kiss upon his his lips to soothe him.

“Yeah, well we both tend to have quite a temper,” Lance replied with a soft hum and and leaned back, his palms pressing against the soft, green grass. Keith slowly relaxed more, leaning further into his lap and letting out a content sigh. “Plus I think we both did overreact.. Truce?” Keith pretended he had to think about it and looked away for a second.

“Well… I don’t know-” The galra was suddenly tackled to the ground with Lance pinning him down from above, a grin on his face as he looked to Keith. He groaned and looked up at Lance with a huff as his arms were pinned above his head. Slowly, Lance leaned down and placed a loving and equally passionate kiss upon his lips, his eyes fluttering close to enjoy every moment of the kiss. Keith smiled against Lance’s lips and wrapped his arms around his neck, keeping him close to him. The two knew now that each time they had together was precious and had to savor every touch and every kiss they shared. Soon needing to breathe, the two parted their lips from one another with lazy smiles looking down at one another. 

For the rest of the day, Keith laid curled up against Lance’s side as the altean ran his fingers through Keith’s soft and fluffy hair. The two drifted off into a light and peaceful nap, no fears waking either of them up from nightmares and no one to bother them for the rest of the day. But like most things, all good times must come to an end at some point. Lance tiredly yawned and sat up from where he was lying and stretched his arms, careful to not rouse the sleeping galra next to him too much. He leaned down and pressed a gentle kiss to Keith’s forehead, causing the other to peek one tired eye open. Keith slowly sat up and yawned, then looked to the sky to see how late it was and groaned. He wished they could spend more time together that day..

“I should really head back before it’s supper time… My father told me that he, along with my mother, need to talk to me about something. Let’s hope it’s just about jousting lessons with Shiro and going into a higher level of training,” Lance mumbled and stood up, stretching his back this time. “Usually that’s what all after-supper-meetings are about.” Keith nodded in response as he stood up and patted off any dirt or grass that may have stuck to his clothing while lying down.

“I hope so too. And Pidge and Hunk haven’t said anything to Shiro about us? I mean I know the guy is really nice and trustworthy but if he learned you're dating someone of the species that basically tortured him and ripped his arm off and-”

“Keith, buddy,” Lance interrupted holding up a hand to stop him mid sentence.

“What?”

“You’re rambling again. And when you ramble you get anxious. So just relax okay?” Lance said in a soothing voice and gently grabbed Keith’s shoulders and looked him in the eyes. “Both Hunk and Pidge promised to not say anything ever unless you purposely hurt me, which I know you will never do so our secret is safe.” Keith took in a shaky breath, closed his eyes, then nodded.

“You’re right, for once,” Keith teased and Lance rolled his eyes and began heading back to his home castle, while waving to Keith. The galra stood there for a second and watched as his love walked out of view before turning around himself and headed back to his spacecraft to head back to his father’s base near the center of the galra empire. 

To be honest, Keith didn’t really have the best relationship with his father, especially after his mother passed away when he was only five years old. There had been a raid at his father’s old base and his mother had used herself as a shield to protect Keith from the intruders laser pistols. His father had blamed the death of his wife on Keith because he had been too weak to defend his mother and that when he was Keith’s age at the time, he had already learned how to handle a laser pistol. So from then on, when Keith learned the only way to gain his father’s respect was to follow orders and train like there was no tomorrow, he never stopped. He trained every morning and every night, and felt satisfied when his father would simply nod, with a smile smile forming at his lips almost showing off his sharp teeth.

Keith landed his spacecraft inside his father’s base, hidden from all eyes of the galaxy unless you really knew where to look, and headed down the long dimly lit hall. All halls in galra warships tend to have dimmer lighting due to the fact that galras are very sensitive when it comes to bright lighting. But because had spent so many days outside in the field with a bright shining sun, he grew accustomed to bright lights and they never seemed to truly bother him anymore. 

As he made his way to his room, to change into clothes to train in, he heard the intercom turn on, stating with his father’s voice; “Keith, my son, you are to report to my counsel chamber as of immediately.” His heart began to race. His father rarely called him into his counsel room unless it was to discuss war tactics, and space had been relatively quiet recently. (I mean despite the fact that you can’t hear anything in space, but you know what I mean.) So he hurriedly made his way down the opposite end of the hall, place his hand on the scanner and entered as the doors opened for him. Keith saluted his father and bowed his head in respect, and was dismissed of his stance when his father called him to stand next to him.

“I know you have been training hard, son. So I think that you are now ready to be fully accepted into the galra army, but as you know you must commit to a mission that will aid in the takeover of all galaxies within our grasps.” Keith looked up as his father turned on a screen and his whole face went pale, if possible with such purple skin. His blood went cold as he stared at the screen. 

It was a stilled image of Lance speaking with a small peasant family.. 

“Let me explain to you how I need you to capture the prince of Altea.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hope you enjoyed this chapter!! Let me know if ya noticed any grammar mistakes!
> 
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	3. Falling Apart

Lance had walked through the village, taking his time to arrive back home while his mind raced with thoughts about what his father and mother needed to talk with him about after dinner. Had his parents learned of his relationship with Keith? He really hope not, that wasn’t a talk he was ready to have, or ever have. Thoughts of his parents taking Keith as a prisoner then sentencing him to execution made his heart race with fear and worry. Lance would rather take Keith’s place then have his beloved go through anymore pain than he already had. He knew he had a more luxurious life than Keith, who had to nearly train himself to exhaustion just to seek his father’s approval. 

 

Knowing he couldn’t stall any longer, Lance walked through the castle gates and made his way through the long hallways to the dining hall. He stood before the doors and took in a deep breath, trying to relax the nerves that he felt all through him. He didn’t know what to be expecting on the other side of the two, large doors, but something told him he wouldn’t be ready to deal with it. The prince closed his eyes to try and clear his mind, telling himself over and over to just relax. To just  _ breathe _ . 

 

“It’s alright.. Everything will be fine. You’re gonna be  _ fine, _ Lance.” He did his best at trying to pep himself up, and to try and think positively about the situation. Who knows, maybe his parents really needed to just talk about some new “princely class” he would have to take to prepare him to be king in the far away future. He had been so preoccupied with trying to calm himself and pep himself up that he hadn’t heard Shiro walk up behind him. He only noticed when the ex-soldier placed his prosthetic arm on Lance’s shoulder, causing him jump nearly a foot off the ground. 

  
“Uh.. You okay there, Lance?” Shiro asked, raising an eyebrow in confusion as he came into view and looked down at the smaller male. “You’re talking to yourself and you seem a little tense. Everything alright?” Lance sheepishly nodded and rubbed his arm, laughing nervously.

 

“Yeah, yeah, I’m fine. Just a little nervous I guess? Don’t know what my parents want to talk to me about,” Lance explained as he looked up to face Shiro. “Plus dad seemed to be pretty serious about it so that makes me even more nervous. Am I gonna be leading some military group into war? Cause as amazing I am when it comes to combat in training, don’t think I could handle real deal.” That seemed like a reasonable enough excuse as to why he was nervous. Yet Shiro didn’t seem to fall for it, but he didn’t question in and just laughed softly. 

  
“Relax, Lance. I don’t think you will be leading soldiers into battle, you’re not nearly enough experienced yet, even with your ‘amazing combat skills’ I don’t believe your father would make you lead in battle.” Shiro lightly squeezed his shoulder in a comforting manner and smiled gently down at him to provide some sort of comfort to the anxious boy. “Now I’m sure you’re nearly late for dinner again so get your butt in their.” He pushed the Prince lightly towards the door so that he would not stall any longer and join dinner with his family. 

 

“Do you know what my parents want to talk about? You’re basically my father’s right hand man,” Lance asked as he turned to face Shiro again, his hand lightly placed on the door in front of him before he entered in the dining hall. The ex-soldier’s smile faltered a little before returning, but his smile was a little less bright as he nodded slowly with a soft sigh.

  
“You’re father told me this morning. Just.. when you realize what it is your father is asking of you, please do not hate him. He doesn’t know you already have someone whom you are loyal to.” Lance froze for a second, not completely catching on to what his father was going to ask of him, but he understood fully what Shiro was hinting at when he said “someone whom you are loyal to”. The young prince opened his mouth to question Shiro how and why he knew. How did he figure it out? They were  _ so _ careful to make sure no one was ever watching them when they were in the fields. 

 

He didn’t know how they were found out. 

 

But all he knew for sure was that Shiro knew of his hidden relationship.

 

Just when he was about to ask, Shiro turned swiftly and walked down the hallway without another word, not even bothering to explain himself. Realizing that Shiro had somehow managed to figure out about him and Keith made him grow twice as nervous to enter the room where his parents were waiting.  There was no way he could back out now though, if he tried to run no doubt his father would send someone to go after him. His heart was racing, his palms were claming up, and his pointed olive skinned ears twitched slightly  with nerves. 

 

_ Deep breathes. Puff up your chest to appear prouder and more confident. It’s just your parents, they’ll love you. Come on, Lance just push the door open!  _ With a little too much strength, Lance pushed the doors open, causing them to make loud slamming noise when they hit against the walls as they opened quickly. All heads in the dining room turned to look at Lance because of his sudden and loud entrance, making the young prince’s ears turn a light shade of pink at the tip due to the embarrassment he felt. Lance gave a shy hello-wave to his mother and father before taking his place at the dinner table with his hands in his lap and his head down, flustered. His mother chuckled softly, holding a hand in front of her mouth to hide her quiet laughter that was more than likely directed at her embarrassed son while his father only let out a soft sigh.

 

“You were almost late again, Lance. What is it that always take up your time?” His father chastised, looking at his son with his light colored brows furrowed in confusion. Lance only shrugged and looked up slowly as his father simply shook his head. So if his father didn’t realize why he was late, that meant that Shiro had not told him about his secret relationship with the galra prince. That helped decrease Lance’s anxiety levels a little. But he still had no clue as to what his father wished to talk to him about. “Now to what your mother and I wanted to discuss with you.” 

 

The servants began to bring out food and placed a warm plate of some altean delicacy with almost as many colors as the rainbow. Lance began to eat as his father continued to speak to him. “So we know you have been taking many classes and although your manners may not be the absolute best, they are still enough to make you a nice young man. And we believe it is time to help you take another step further in your life.” His mother and father shared a look, an almost loving look between each other. “So we found a lovely Altean princess from the other kingdom in altea that is quite a bit away. And we think she will be the perfect wife for you.” 

 

Lance choked on his spoonful of food and coughed, hitting against his chest to unlodge the food stuck in his throat then looked up with wide eyes. His father simply ignored his reaction and continued to speak. “Her name is Allura and we think she will be very good for you. Very nice and she is very beautiful. We think with this marriage we will be able to unite our kingdoms and become more powerful against Zarkon. ”

 

“Are you serious?!” Lance snapped and shot up from his seat, nearly knocking over his plate. “I have never even met her and you want me to marry her? When is this even going to happen?!”

 

Lance’s father sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose with an oncoming headache as his son snapped at him repeatedly. He looked up to meet his son’s eyes and kept his gaze locked on him. “The wedding will happen within three weeks. Allura will be arriving here by next week in which you will begin the courting process of getting to know her and having her learn to trust you.”

“This is a load of quiznak!” Lance roared out and slammed his fist on the table, causing his glass of water to spill over onto the table. His mother gasped and covered her mouth with her hand, shocked that her son had not only loudly cursed, but he had cursed as his father as well. 

 

“Lance! You will not use such vulgar language with your father! We are only doing what we think is best for you. And you haven’t shown much interest in courting anyone so we thought we would just help you and speedup your process a little bit,” the Queen explained in a gentle tone of voice, trying to not lose her patience with her son. “You will be the king one day, and the people need to know that their future king will be ready and already have a queen.”

 

“I can’t believe this- UGH!” Lance briskly walked out and slammed the doors open and began marching down the hallway. There was no way this would happen! He didn’t want to marry some princess he didn’t even know. If he could he would marry Keith.. But who knows if that will ever be possible with how things currently are with the galra and druid empire. And how could he parents do this to him? He knew it wasn’t uncommon in their culture for arranged marriages, but he thought his parents cared for him more than to just marry him off for their own personal gain. Maybe Allura was a nice and loving person, but no one would ever be able to take his heart and sweep him off his feet the way that Keith was able to. Mullet and all. 

 

Speaking of Keith, he realized he would have to tell his secret lover about this, since the two shared nearly everything with one another. He didn’t want to imagine what the galra prince’s reaction would be. Would he cry? Get angry? Would he leave him? No. Keith would never leave him, especially not for a stupid reason like that. 

 

Still… How would he take the news? 

 

Lance slumped against a wall and covered his face as he slowly slid to the floor, hiding his face in his knees. He held his legs close and tried to calm his angered and racing heart from popping out of his chest. Why did this have to happen to him? He wished he could just find his own planet to live on with Keith. Alone. And Happy. Once again, Lance had been so wrapped up in his own head and so distracted that he hadn’t heard the footsteps of Shiro coming down the hall towards him. Lance looked up when he felt a shadow cast over him, his blue eyes were red from crying as he sniffled. 

 

“Lance, I-”

 

“You knew.” Lance mumbled and clutched himself more and looked back down, while Shiro let out a sigh and nodded slowly.    
  


“Your father had been planning this for a month. He told me only because I am the one to guard her once she arrives,” Shiro explained in a soft voice, trying not to upset the altean prince any further than he already was. “I couldn’t tell you, if I did your father would have been greatly upset with me.”

 

“But you could have still told me!” Lance snapped, standing up to get closer to Shiro’s face, whose eyes were filled with compassion and remorse. “And you know about-” Lance made his voice softer. “And you know about Keith and I..! How?!” It had been one of the questions that was burning in the back of his mind ever since the ex-soldier had hinted at it before the wedding talk. 

 

“Well when I noticed you coming home with a stupid-in-love grin on your face how could I not get curious and check on you when you went out?” Shiro said in a lightly teasing voice and gently patted Lance’s shoulder. “Just be careful, okay? I won’t tell another soul about your relationship… but with Allura arriving here soon it will be more dangerous for you to keep going out and meeting him.” Lance nodded and wiped at his watering eyes and let out a shaky sigh. He knew that. 

 

He knew their relationship would eventually get too hard to hide.  

 

But he never imagined this soon.

_________________________________________

 

Keith had not uttered a single world, all he could do was stare at the now frozen, stilled image of Lance smiling to another altean peasant as he passed through their village. He knew his father was still talking, and explaining the plan that he wanted absolutely no part in. He would never be able to bring to commit this act, but if he didn’t than his father would begin to suspect something. The galra prince never had told Lance, but many times Keith has done things he wasn’t proud of, but did just to save his own skin from his father’s terrifying wrath of anger. Keith had been on smaller missions that were meant to lead him up to his large mission, preparing him for what he would have to do.

 

He had killed so many

  
Many innocent races of aliens

  
So many planets destroyed.

 

All because he wanted to be able to make his father proud of him, and proud to call him his son. Keith was shorter than most galra soldiers, but he was able to learn quick so he was able to defend himself against the others. The only way he was able to make his father proud and recognize him was by ruining the lives of others; and he hated that. He was a monster. And now he would have to go after and capture the only person who loved him and was proud of him by just being himself, not by hurting others for approval. Even with all their arguments and their little disputes, they still loved each other no matter what, even with all the flaws they had. But now Keith knew there would be no way out of this dreaded mission unless he wished for his father to piece together all the subtle clues and discover their relationship. 

 

“-so I want you to start your mission right away. ” Keith tuned back in and perked his ears back up so that it look like he had at least been listening at least a little. He swallowed and he stood next to his father, trying to puff out his chest to appear taller and prouder. “Does this mission seem suitable to you? I do believe you are quite capable of a mission as important as this one. To capture the prince of Altea would be a magnificent feat, and no doubt even Zarkon would be overly proud. You yourself are a prince of the Galra empire, but an even greater warrior.” Keith’s eyes suddenly shined at those words spoken from his father, who was now looking down to him with a small grin. Despite the awful situation of his mission, he beamed at the fact his father had admitted to him face-to-face that he was an excellent warrior.

 

But yet he still didn’t want to go through the mission because he didn’t want to lose Lance’s trust and love. Their years of being together and loving one another with secret meetings would all be for nothing if Keith had to capture and potentially torture Lance. He took in a deep breath and made eye contact with his father, his ears twitching slightly with nerves. 

 

“Father are you sure that this is a task suitable for me? I do admit that I think I am a skilled warrior and I thank you for saying so, father. But yet do you really think that I will be able to do this? Altea has been able to avoid any sort of galra infiltration for many years, will I even be able to enter into the peasant villages? There surely must be guards at every corner,” Keith pointed out as he continued to look up at his father, who only smirked down at him with a sinister grin.  

 

“You know of Zarkon’s court witch?” His father walked forward and went to the control panel after Keith nodded in response. “Well, Haggar has been informed of this mission of yours and she has offered help you by helping you go into Altea right under their noses.” He opened a small compartment and walked to Keith and clasped a galra crystal necklace on his neck. A thin silver chain held a thumb size, dark, purple galra crystal. When placed around the young Galra prince, the crystal began to faintly glow a light lavender and Keith began to feel a strange sense wash over him. He closed his eyes for only a second and when he looked down at his hands, he found himself stunned into silence while his father only stared down at him with a satisfied grin. 

 

Keith’s eyes darted straight up to meet his own father’s glowing, yellow eyes before hurrying over to window to see if he could spot his reflection. He looked up at one of the front windows and slowly reached up to touch his ears, which were now flesh and pointed instead of soft and big. He had markings under his eyes that were a vibrant red and his skin color had changed from a light purple and was now slightly pale, really no where near the same color as Lance. But the most remarkable change to Keith was none of these changed. It was his eyes.

 

His eyes, which had been once just like his father yellow, glowing ones, he now had his own irises that stayed in the middle of white of his eyes. He found himself in awe at his new eyes, which were an interesting color of violet. To be honest, Keith never found his eyes rather attractive and no where near as beautiful and full of life like Lance’s alluring blue, ocean eyes. Keith’s eyes had always just been that dull yet glowing color of yellow that every other galra had, but now his eyes were finally something other than that  _ ugly  _ color he despised so much. It reminded him of how much of a monster he was and always would be.

 

Keith was startled out of his wonder and awe when he heard his father clear his throat from behind him, causing him to flush from embarrassment. He hadn’t realised he had been staring at his own reflection for so long. His father only light heartedly chuckled and stepped forward to walk to Keith side, where he placed a gentle hand on his shoulder with the sinister grin he always wore on his lips. The galra prince swallowed quietly as he remembered why he would have to wear this altean disguise.

 

“I am glad that you seem to be excited about your disguise and your mission. I am sure that you will not fail to pass this mission. Maybe Zarkon will allow you to be his new right-hand soldier, next to that witch. You are more than deserving of it, and if you complete this mission I know for sure that you will earn all the respect you can get from not only the other druid and galra soldiers, but of our emperor as well,” his father declared proud and gave his shoulder a strong squeeze before turning around and walking out to exit the room. “You may leave as soon as you are prepared, please do not delay. The sooner we have that prince, the sooner we can gain control of their pathetic little planet. Vrepit sa!”

 

“V-Vrepit sa!” Keith called back weakly with a salute to his father before shakily dropping his hand back down to his side. He leaned against the nearest wall and covered his face in his hands, taking in a shuddering breath. Keith refused to be the weak link in the galra and druid empire because he he knew if he showed any weakness, he would be “cut”. 

  
But yet… could he really go through with this mission?

**Notes for the Chapter:**

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